i was feeling a bit under the weather during the farming conference this past weekend- a sore throat, some coughing, low energy. you know where this is going. as we drove home on sunday afternoon, those three hours felt like an eternity. my entire body- even my teeth, people!– ached. i could barely speak from the sore throat & lack of energy. as soon as we arrived home, i crawled into bed. luke checked my temperature & a high 101 concluded that i was indeed sick.

a doctor’s vist & some meds later, it was confirmed- i had the flu. luke has the patience of an angel & prepared miso soup, super food smoothies & a plethora of other get-well-soon! foods.

on tuesday night, just as i was feeling well enough to lift my head without feeling dizzy, i felt something in my hair. i had noticed earlier that my head was extra itchy, but it’s january so hey! a dry scalp is pretty normal. as i pulled the living creature from my hair & looked closer, i kind of freaked out. i had spent the week before with a bunch of adorable, preciously dirty & germy elementery school kiddos who had passed on this beautiful case of the flu. in my state of insanity, i googled “head lice” & was shocked to find that the little bug in my palm matched the one on the screen. 

i bawled my eyes out. a few phone calls later, i called my dear friend & lice expert & bawled some more. she told me what to do & luke was out at the store in less than a second. in the dark hours of the night, i was in a ball on the floor with my head propped over the tub, weak & achy with a fever, while luke sprayed my head with a mix of listerine & tea tree oil using what he referred to as “a spray bottle”… also known as an industrial sprayer with a hand pump used to spray compost tea. that night i looked extra gorgeous with wet hair covered in a plastic shower cap while i slept. 

so needless to say, i have been quarantined from all of society. today i am feeling a bit of lifted spirits & hope to leave my dark & lonely cave by saturday. until then, this has been the perfect time to wrap up my january goals. after all that, do you even care about the success of my goals? we’ll see…

1. wedding album: i had high hopes for you. after a bit of poor planning & film negatives that took three weeks to scan from our local film shop, i failed miserably. i thought i might get it done by the end of this month if i rushed, but no one wants a rushed wedding album. so, i’m not letting the guilt get to me. i have one huge step behind me & hope to finish the album by spring. 

2. read & complete a book: i finished 7! the plague was good for something. the ending was just as good as i thought it would be. i love being a book person.

 just a few shots from my mornings this week

i am packing for this weekend’s exciting trip to the southern sawg conference– also known as three days of networking & gaining practical tools for sustainable farming practices in the southern region. luke & i have been looking forward to these few days of geeking out with other farmers, foodies & educators since last year’s get-together. 

i am packing homemade chocolate oatmeal cookies for the trip, a knitting project to work on inbetween classes & my notebook to fill with inspiring ideas, contacts & tools. i cannot wait to share my findings with you!

love,

natalie

oh, books. you are wonderful.

my favorite goal this month is reading & finishing one book. it seems so small, but for my lifestyle, it can be a bit challenging. i love books, but finishing a book is really my problem. i go from one issue/topic/title to another & never read that final page. “have you read such & such?” “yes, the first fifty pages of (insert really great book here)!” 

a lot of folks in this space & instagram have asked what book i picked up. i haven’t finished yet (hey! i still have 8 days left!), but i thought it might be of some interest to you to know. this month i chose 7: an experimental mutiny against excess by jen hatmaker. 

i love this book & it has radically changed my life & perspective in a really quiet way. let me explain. this book is ultimately about fasting from excess to allow more room for God to move. jen & her family “took seven months, identified seven areas of excess, and made seven simple choices to fight back against the modern-day disease of greed, materialism & overindulgence.“

 i am very intentional about not sharing my spiritual life in a way that you as a reader might find uncomfortable. of course, if you read between the lines i hope you find that i do have that inner peace that is found in a higher being. above all, my choice to live an intentional life is rooted in God. my husband and i believe that we are to care for the earth, protect our resources & use them wisely, grow food & care for our neighbors because in the beginning, we were called as humans to do so. 

& i believe that’s the whole point of 7. how do we share community, live fuller lives, raise families & work where we are without giving it all up because of guilt or frustration for what we have & others don’t? i think it’s through our daily, intentional choices & challenging ourselves to fight the excess- to really investigate where our possessions are made & our food is grown, to find ways to meet the needs of our neighbors & love them, to use our time effectively so we can live lives that bear good fruit.

i am excited about reading the final pages of this book. i hope you’ll pick it up, too.

love,

natalie